Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 17 Bane's Brutal Style!

In Cocoyasi Village, in Arlong's paradise, Arlong is currently discussing some matters with his subordinates.

"That Rat guy called the other day, telling us to keep a low profile and not cause trouble. It seems the East Blue Navy is cracking down on pirates," Arlong said to everyone, sitting confidently in his chair.

Most of his subordinates were fishmen who had followed him from Fishman Island.

However, there was one exception at this moment: Nami from Cocoyasi Village.

She was the only human in the entire Arlong Pirates. After Arlong occupied this place, he saw Nami's talent as a navigator and her drawing skills. He wanted to use Nami's talent to draw a sea chart that would allow him to lead the Fish-Men to dominate the sea. So he forced Nami to become their "partner" and promised Nami that as long as she paid 100 million Berries, he would give her and the village their freedom.

For the sake of the village, Nami, despite her deep hatred and disgust for Arlong and his gang of pirates who killed her foster mother, still had no choice but to work there.

Ah Long wasn't really headstrong and had no intention of going against the navy in the East China Sea, so he instructed everyone not to go out to sea to plunder for the time being and to keep a low profile.

"But we can do other things besides plundering, Nami. I recently heard about a crew called the 'Buggy Pirates' in the East Blue. They seem to have a nautical chart about the Grand Line, and that guy named Buggy seems to have a treasure. Go find them and try to get the chart. As for the treasure, maybe it'll be a hundred million Berries?" Arlong said to Nami with a wicked look.

Nami hated Arlong in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She agreed expressionlessly, saying, "I understand. I'll go out to sea to find them in a couple of days."

In the original story, Nami came into contact with the Straw Hat crew and eventually joined them after she went to cause trouble for the Buggy Pirates.

After explaining this to Nami, Arlong turned to his other underlings and said, "Since we can't rob anymore for the time being, let's increase the toll. All merchant ships that dock in our territory will be charged a protection fee of 100,000 Berries."

"Understood, boss!" the group of murloc underlings replied excitedly.

Just then, a little merman walked in from outside the park and said, "Boss, a merchant ship looks like it's coming."

Just as they were talking about collecting protection money, someone delivered themselves to their door. Ah Long waved his hand and said, "Kroobi, go and take care of them. Kill any of the disobedient ones."

Crooby is one of the combatants of the Arlong Pirates, and is skilled in Fishman Karate and the like.

He grinned maliciously and agreed, "Understood."

On the other side, Bane and Zoro also disembarked smoothly. Several fish-man pirate henchmen were inspecting the merchant ship, and the ship owner's practiced way of taking out money suggested that he already knew about the situation.

After all, Ah Long and his gang have been entrenched here for many years. Over the years, Cocoa West Village has remained within the shipping routes of merchant ships, which shows that they have their own set of rules that have been accepted.

"Are those guys the fishmen you were talking about?" Zoro asked, following Bane and looking at the fishman pirates with some curiosity.

"Hmm, their strength is ten times that of ordinary humans, and they are even more powerful in the water. To be honest, I find it hard to understand why they, with such talent, are doing so poorly in this world themed around the ocean," Bane said with a hint of emotion.

The Fish-Men's stronghold is stable, hidden deep beneath the ocean at a depth of ten thousand meters, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. People on the surface of the sea can hardly do anything about them. Moreover, the Fish-Men are exceptionally gifted and are completely favored by this world. In fact, the bloodline of Ryugu City even possesses Poseidon, one of the three ancient weapons said to be capable of destroying the world. With such a powerful hand, Fish-Men Island has somehow managed to become a second-rate country, suffering from various forms of discrimination and oppression without daring to resist. It's truly hard to understand.

As the two were talking and preparing to leave the port, a group of fish-man pirates came towards them. Bane recognized the guy named Croobi at a glance. Although he didn't remember his name, he still had an impression of him and knew that he was one of Arlong's officers.

"You bunch of bastards, wait here for a moment. We're going to collect new protection money now," Croobbi shouted, pointing at Zoro's nose.

Zoro? ???

Is this guy always this daring?

Although he was furious and wanted to draw his sword and kill this scoundrel, Zoro still gave Bane face when they were out in public. So he turned to Bane beside him and prepared to ask his senior brother how to resolve the situation.

Turning his head, he saw dark power emanating from Bane's hand, and then a hand cannon bigger than his head appeared in Bane's hand.

Korobi on the other side was stunned by what he saw. Before he could react, Bane had already pulled the trigger.

With a loud bang, the hand cannon spat out a vicious burst of flame. The huge projectile was impossible to dodge at such close range and struck Croobbi directly.

As expected of the Imperial Lieutenant-level hand cannon that Bane sold his dilapidated house to buy, its power is undeniable!

Normally, these strong and muscular fishmen can withstand being hit by naval cannon fire and won't be killed instantly.

But now, Croobbi's entire upper body was blown away, his lower body was a mangled mess, his waist was a bloody mess, he was thrown dozens of meters away by the impact, crashed to the ground and rolled several times, his blood polluted a large area of ​​the ground, and his limbs and flesh were scattered everywhere, the scene was extremely gruesome.

After taking down the guy with a single shot, Bane turned to Zoro and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? You don't have something to say to these bastards, do you?"

This was the first time Zoro had ever witnessed such a brutal scene, and he gained a new understanding of his senior brother. However, he did not dislike this behavior. He had originally intended to kill his senior brother as well, but his senior brother's methods were simply more ruthless.

"Of course not," Zoro shook his head.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"Then let's get to work! Kill all the fishmen in this village, they're all pirates!" Bane patted Zoro on the shoulder.

The next second, Zoro drew his sword with a cold gleam from his waist, stomped his foot, and pounced on the two fishman minions who hadn't even reacted yet. With two slashes, he ended the battle.

However, the noise from this hand cannon was so great that it alerted Arlong, who was still holding a meeting with his employees in Dragon Park.

"What's going on!?" Ah Long suddenly stood up from his seat, his brows furrowed as he looked toward the port.

The navy is attacking!?

The other officers were also puzzled and surprised, but Nami's eyes lit up, as if she had some kind of expectation. She had recently read the newspaper and heard that the East Blue Navy was cracking down on discipline. Perhaps those dirty Navy members from the past had been dealt with? Was the Navy now free to wipe out the Arlong Pirates?

Just then, the amusement park gates were pushed open again, and a fishman henchman rushed in, shouting in a panic, "Boss Arlong, something terrible has happened! Two very powerful humans have arrived at the port. They killed Brother Kroobi and are attacking this way!"

"What!? Croobie is dead!?" Aaron exclaimed in a fit of rage.

He is as cruel to humans as he is to his own people; he is a classic racist!

Moreover, upon hearing that it wasn't the navy that attacked, but rather two reckless humans, he became even more enraged and immediately resolved to kill those two humans alive!

But he didn't even need to go over there. Zoro and Bane had already reached the gate like cutting vegetables. They kicked open the gate that had just been closed, and Bane swaggered in, saying, "Good afternoon, you sea scum! I've heard there's a very excellent and beautiful navigator here, so I've come to invite her to join our more promising crew—no, our team!"

As he spoke, Bane turned his gaze to Aaron, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "And while we're at it, we'll requisition your ships."

(End of this chapter)